During a briefing Tuesday afternoon, White House press secretary Josh Earnest made it clear that the U.S. may very well enter into further negotiations with Iran after the “final” nuclear agreement deadline on June 30.
When asked whether the White House could “assure the American people” that the nuclear agreement with Iran “will in fact be final,” Earnest said that the deal would serve as a “framework for moving forward.”
“Can you at least assure the American people that if a final deal is reached, it will in fact be final?” a journalist asked. “That is to say, the final deal will not contain within it, with respect to any particular component, parameters that are to be fleshed out further and further after the inking of the so-called ‘final’ deal?”
“Let me just say that I would anticipate that the culmination of two years of work here is to be able to establish a framework for moving forward," Earnest replied.
"And that means Iran taking the steps that are necessary, and in a verifiable way shutting down every pathway they have to a nuclear weapon. And they would do that in exchange for sanctions relief. That is the essence of the agreement."
He continued,
“Now will there be differences of opinion as certain aspects of this that may require additional negotiations? Yes. That’s going to keep our diplomats employed here. But this is an effort to reach a final agreement.”
"Yes, this will be a final agreement," Earnest reiterated, "and there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to begin to accomplish the goal that both sides set out to achieve..."
Click here to watch Earnest’s remarks on U.S. nuclear talks with Iran. You can also watch the video below for the full White House press briefing.